Brined Roast Turkey

"Brining makes a huge difference in taste and texture that we appreciate, and it makes a bigger difference in bigger turkeys," says Tom Ryan, who prefers fresh turkey. The recipe can be doubled for bigger birds.

Ingredients

1 gallon water

1 cup kosher salt

1/3 cup brown sugar

Roughly chopped herbs: sage, parsley, rosemary, thyme

1 turkey

Poultry seasoning

Directions

Combine water, salt, sugar and herbs in a bucket, cooler or resealable plastic bag. Make enough to cover the turkey. Place turkey in brine and refrigerate 12-24 hours.

Remove turkey from brine, allow to drain. Dry all over with paper towels.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Sprinkle the inner cavity of the turkey and the neck pocket with poultry seasoning. Fill the cavity and neck with stuffing, if desired.

Tie legs together with twine. Use poultry pins to close the neck pocket, as well as to pin the wings at the tips into the turkey.

Place turkey on a rack in a roasting pan. Roast the turkey for 20-25 minutes per pound at 325 degrees. Let turkey sit for 30-60 minutes before carving.

Raspberry Applesauce

This is an easy alternative to cranberry sauce that the Ryan family loves with turkey. Serves 8-10.

Ingredients

1 12- or 16-ounce bag frozen raspberries (unsweetened)

¾ cup apple cider

1 48-ounce jar applesauce

Directions

Place the frozen raspberries in a medium saucepan. Add the cider and bring to a boil. Cook the berries until they all break, and the fruit and seeds separate. You may want to help this along with a potato masher.

Place the applesauce in a baking dish. Strain the berry mixture into the applesauce and mix. This will remove all the raspberry seeds. Mix well, and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Serve hot, and use as you would cranberry sauce.

Bourbon Praline Sweet Potatoes

Tom Ryan adapted this recipe from a good friend, Alex Patout, who has been cooking in Louisiana for decades. This dish can be made up to two days in advance. Makes 8-10 servings.

Ingredients:

SWEET POTATO BASE

5 large sweet potatoes or yams

¼ pound (1 stick) salted butter

½ cup white sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/3 cup milk

2 eggs, beaten

PRALINE TOPPING

½ cup heavy cream

1 cup light brown sugar

1/3 cup melted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons bourbon

1 cup chopped pecans

Directions

In a large baking pan, roast the sweet potatoes at 350 degrees for about 1½ hours, or until very soft. Split, let cool slightly, and scoop flesh into a large mixing bowl. Discard skins.Mix with an electric mixer to mash. While still warm, mix in the butter, sugar, vanilla and milk. Mix well. Then add the two beaten eggs, mix for 30 seconds, and transfer to a large casserole dish. Make sure there is room — about 1 inch — for the praline topping later. Refrigerate.

To make the praline topping, bring the heavy cream to a boil in a medium pan. While boiling, stir in the brown sugar. Stirring constantly, keep a vigorous boil going for about 3 minutes (it will bubble up, so keep watch). Remove from heat. Add the melted butter and stir, then add the vanilla and bourbon. Add the chopped pecans and mix well. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread the praline mix evenly over the refrigerated sweet potato mixture. Bake for 45- 60 minutes, or until the entire praline layer is bubbling.

Turkey Stuffing

Tom Ryan stuffs his bird, but if you prefer to bake the stuffing separately, this recipe makes enough for two 2-quart casseroles, or 1 large turkey.

Ingredients

¼ pound (1 stick) unsalted butter

3 large yellow or white onions, diced

½ cup milk

1 bunch celery

2 bunches curly parsley

3 sprigs fresh rosemary

15 fresh sage leaves

10 sprigs of fresh thyme

2 bags Pepperidge Farms cubed stuffing

About 3 tablespoons poultry seasoning

Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add diced onions, sauté for 20 minutes, or until onions start to brown.

Add the milk, bring to a simmer, and cook down for 5 minutes. Set aside.

Remove the stems from the parsley and other herbs (reserve stems for stock), and mince leaves.

In a large bowl, combine 1½ bags of the bread cubes, the diced celery, chopped herbs, 2 teaspoons poultry seasoning, salt and pepper. Mix well with a large wooden spoon.

Add the onion-milk mixture and mix well. Add more poultry seasoning, salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before filling the turkey. This allows the stuffing to soften and the flavors to meld.

If you have some left over, or if you prefer not to stuff, bake in a 2- or 3-quart casserole at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.

Two-Day Turkey Gravy

“I can't imagine Thanksgiving without this. I find that making this gravy goes very well with drinking a few bottles of great wine,” says Tom Ryan. Use the trimmings from the vegetables and herbs in the stuffing recipe for the stock. Makes about 8 cups gravy.

Place turkey necks on baking sheets in a single layer, season liberally with kosher salt and poultry seasoning.

Place in a 350-degree oven and cook 2 hours

While the turkey necks are cooking, start the stock by bringing the water, onion, celery and herb trimmings to a boil. Lower heat and simmer 2 hours, while the necks roast.

After 2 hours, remove the necks from the oven and place them in the simmering stock.

Deglaze all the residue from the baking sheets using hot stock. The baked-on juices from the necks may look black, but they dissolve to a beautiful reddish brown color once deglazed. Add this liquid to the stock. Turn up the heat, and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer, cover and cook for 2 hours. Add water back to the stock if needed.

Remove the necks from the stock with a slotted spoon, and place on a sheet pan in a single layer to cool.

Once cool, pick the meat from the neck bones. The meat should peel from the bones very easily, and the necks will break into individual bones as well. Reserve the meat in the refrigerator.

Place the bones back into the stock and simmer on medium for 2-3 hours. Let cool and strain. Reserve the liquid and discard the turkey bones and other solids.

This is a good place to stop on Day One. Refrigerate the stock.

Day Two

Now it is time to make the final gravy, while the turkey is in the oven.

Heat the stock. In a frying pan over medium-low heat, make a roux by melting the butter, and slowly stirring in the flour. Use a whisk and stir constantly until all of the flour is incorporated. The roux should look like very light peanut butter. Set aside.

Remove the finished turkey from the roasting pan. Pour off all the fat. Use the heated stock to deglaze the turkey pan. Add the deglazing liquid to the stock. Bring to a boil.

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